By Bill Traback, Regional Director for Florida - New Home Star
If you have had the opportunity to participate in marketing at your community level, there is no doubt that you have seen the incredible difference that SAMI has on traffic and sales. It is a tool that allows us to influence our incomes and drive a more consistent flow of prospects. SAMI is one of the many differences between you and all of the other sales representatives in real estate, and if mastered, it is a catalyst for high performance.
Since our approach to the business is to go beyond just day-to-day activities, taking a strategic approach to planning SAMI is necessary to maximize effectiveness while minimizing your time investment.
Planning
Planning for SAMI can be a fun and empowering exercise that allows you to:
- Consider your approach, based specifically on market conditions
- Drive traffic successfully in the short, mid and long term
- Direct your activities to drive more than just your primary TCG, but also buyer profiles that will trade off some of their "wants" after seeing how your product will sufficiently meet their needs
- Shorten preparation time by combining the collection of materials needed for multiple SAMIs
- Create a flow that builds momentum
Here are some steps that you can take to help with your planning strategy:
1) Look at the entire quarter
Taking a look at the quarter you are currently in--as well as your coming quarter--will help you to create an overall approach to your initiatives. Having a calendar with holidays and other significant national and local events, climate and seasonal trends, and any other relevant information will help with designing this strategy. First, commit to designing an event each month that will be your largest focus and select the best week for the event while being careful to avoid other events that could draw traffic away from you. Mark your calendar so you also can see the intervals between initiatives and decide if the spacing is appropriate.
2) Consider the desired outcome
SAMI programs can be effective at driving immediate as well as mid and long-range conversions. Consider whether your initiative will accomplish the goals you intend and select the appropriate approach. Decide whether you are targeting the Realtor community, the public, past prospects, or buyers that you already have living in your community or on contract. Not all SAMI's will accomplish driving short, mid and long-range traffic, so consider your blend.
3) Look at each month in the quarter
Once you decide on your outcome, consider the factors that influence your choices. It's time to select a category for your primary SAMI each month. Remember to consider the following:
- Climate
- Holidays
- Pre-planned community events
- Typical traffic patterns for the month
- Anticipated competitor's events
- The amount of momentum you have
- Your Realtor co-brokerage percentage
- Seasonal market conditions
- Upcoming community milestones
- The stage of your community
4) Choose your category
Considering the above, there are two major categories to select from. Will your effort be to drive Realtor traffic or to reach out directly to your buyers?
Examples of effective Realtor SAMI's include:
- Hosting their office sales meeting at your location
- Presenting your community at their sales meeting in their office
- Hosting a caravan after their sales meeting
- Hosting events in the community or off-site to build awareness and excitement
- Mailers, email campaigns, flyers, calls and other direct outreach
Note: Realtor events generally are used to influence short and mid-term traffic.
Examples of effective buyer SAMI's include:
- Community events
- Neighborhood events including grand openings and ribbon cutting ceremonies
- Special promotions
- Direct mail campaigns
- Guerilla marketing campaigns (including those that involve local businesses)
- Press releases
- Social media campaigns
Note: Buyer targeted SAMI's can produce short, mid and long term results.
Developing the Plan
It's time to mark your calendar with the category of your primary SAMI for each month. Will it be targeting Realtors or buyers? Will it be themed based on market conditions? As you plan, stay in high-level view mode and consider how each month affects the next. Will your efforts build momentum? Will they contribute to your overall goal? How will your decisions this quarter influence the next quarter? Consider how much time and money you will want to budget and dial in the best day to have the event.
Go to the Marketing section of New Home Connect
You have an incredible resource here. Scan through initiatives developed by other New Home Star Sales Associates, the marketing team at the home office, and managers. Use the search bar and filter tools to find initiatives that match up with your set plan, as well as read about what others have done. Use other's ideas to inspire you to create exciting and effective initiatives for your community.
Reach out to the community by contributing to the comments or questions section in the area below each SAMI. You have direct reach to the best minds in the business, and using this resource to communicate with others always results in grander and more effective results than we can produce alone.
If you don't have access to New Home Connect, please visit HERE to find out how you can get a subscription.
Next steps
Having your quarter planned out gives you the ability to gather all of the materials you need and using the marketing section allows for creating flyers or e-blasts to get the word out for your event. Check to see if there is already an editable PDF attached to the SAMI that you have selected and prepare in advance to eliminate last minute issues.
Now that you have your three primary initiatives planned, it is time to look at the rest of the months within the quarter. Are you doing things on a daily basis to drive traffic for short, mid and long terms? Getting into the habit of taking action each day to drive traffic will bring about real results--guaranteed.
Above all, make this fun for yourself and others. It's a great way to fuel excitement for others as well as yourself.
